Exploring students’ dominant approaches to handling epistemic uncertainty when engaging in argument from evidence

Abstract

While uncertainty is inherent to doing science, it is often excluded from science instruction, especially postsecondary chemistry instruction. There are a variety of barriers to infusing uncertainty into the postsecondary...

Teacher strategies to support student navigation of uncertainty: Considering the dynamic nature of scientific uncertainty throughout phases of sensemaking

“…Epistemic uncertainty can be described as students being unsure or struggling about using their epistemic understanding to explain a phenomenon. It emerges while attempting to formulate specific questions, generate data, analyze data to find patterns, interpret data to shape rigorous evidence and explain phenomena, and reason to identify gaps in existing conceptual understanding (Beven, 2016; Kampourakis, 2018; Kirch, 2010; Sensevy, 2014; Tiberghien et al, 2014; Urbanek et al, 2023). Epistemic understanding is the understanding of how to interpret data as evidence and justify claims and solutions to problems (Chen et al, 2016; Kelly & Licona, 2018; Leung, 2020; Ryu & Sandoval, 2012; Yang et al, 2018).…”

The development of pre-service teachers’ argumentation self-efficacy through argumentation-based chemistry instruction

“…Empirical evidence, not just theoretical arguments, underscores the positive influence of argumentation on student learning in the field of science education. Numerous case studies have provided concrete support for the idea that argumentation enhances the learning process (Zohar and Nemet, 2002;Venville and Dawson, 2010;Uzuntiryaki-Kondakci et al, 2021;Urbanek et al, 2023). Despite the recognized advantages of incorporating argumentation into student learning, existing literature from various countries suggests that students rarely have the chance to engage in learning activities centered around argumentation (Osborne et al, 2004;Cross et al, 2008;Venville and Dawson, 2010;McNeill, 2011;Christodoulou and Osborne, 2014).…”